


"Prelude to Axanar": History or Propaganda?

by Limulus



Series: The Axanar Critiques [5]
Category: Star Trek
Genre: Axanar, Essays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-11 11:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19108561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limulus/pseuds/Limulus
Summary: This essay examines the Star Trek fan film "Prelude to Axanar" from a historiographical perspective, questioning whether it is true to the ideals of the Star Trek universe.  I conclude that it is not; rather, it is a piece of Federation propaganda.





	"Prelude to Axanar": History or Propaganda?

With the [announcement](https://fanfilmfactor.com/2019/05/03/jonathan-lanes-fan-film-will-take-place-in-the-axanar-universe/) of Jonathan Lane’s _Interlude_ and a [tentative shooting date](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y51a3Q1154g) for the long-awaited _Axanar_ shorts, I think it’s time to take another look at _Prelude to Axanar_ and answer the question “Does this fan film successfully express Star Trek in not only its look but also its feel?”

_Prelude to Axanar_ , and the aborted _Axanar_ film, were certainly promoted as fan films’ heirs to official Trek.  Of the “ _Axanar_ universe,” Executive Producer Alec Peters [wrote](https://axanarproductions.com/the-axanar-fan-group-the-official-fan-club-of-axanar/) that it “honors the original series in both detail and spirit,” even being complimented by fans as a work of which Gene Roddenberry would have approved, presumably for its fidelity to the franchise which inspired it.  This is an often repeated refrain when _Axanar_ (and _Prelude to Axanar_ ) are discussed.  In one of his [Captain’s Log posts](https://axanar.com/captains-log-may-22nd-2017/), for example, Peters writes that many fans see _Axanar_ as giving them what official Trek does not, that they “want the Star Trek they know and love.”  He continues with this theme in a [post](https://axanarproductions.com/is-axanar-canon/) exploring the canonicity of _Axanar_ , in which he writes that “the most common thing fans say was that CBS should have adopted _Axanar_ not sued [them].  Because [they are] **true to the roots of Star Trek**.” [Emphasis mine.]  Some comments by _Axanar_ fans on a recent [_Axanar_ Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/Axanarfilm/?__tn__=%2CdkCH-R-R&eid=ARDSXfsaeVSpgkBKBwseoMuq_kYUNtcWiVX0RP9DY7_qoVyBL2t3yyzHVLXxWaQggmbiddC2QKhSf6wT&hc_ref=ARSceJekdx65pCo1nCUfORALXjxb1oFZo8r3aTXdweRLOGQOSETk10Q4cYCkqm-UD2U&fref=nf&hc_location=group) generally support these claims.

However, what is intended and what is produced can occasionally be two different things.  While superficially _Prelude to Axanar_ is an excellent Star Trek fan film--It successfully “honors the original series in detail” by incorporating a character from _Enterprise_ , Vulcan Ambassador Soval, played by his original actor, Gary Graham; by clearly basing the [uniforms and insignias](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-prelude-to-axanar/posts/852123) on [those used](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Christopher_Pike?file=Christopher_Pike%2C_2254.jpg) in  _[The Original Series](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Number_One?file=Number_One%2C_2254.jpg)_ ; by using the General Chang costume from _[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_\(Star_Trek\)#/media/File:General_Chang.JPG)_ for a Klingon character, Richard Hatch's Kharn; and even by mimicking shots used in _Star Trek 2009_ such as the hull mounted weapons ([11:47](https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA?t=707)), which were first seen on the _USS Kelvin_ ([0:13](https://youtu.be/jhmwFt2MDv4?t=13)), or the ship rising out of clouds ([12:22](https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA?t=742)), as done by the _USS Enterprise_ ([0:32](https://youtu.be/LjUQ4RtmLiU?t=32))--I would suggest it fails in upholding the “spirit of Star Trek.” Furthermore, I would suggest this mismatch between vision and reality stems from the fan film's conceit.

**A Federation Documentary**

In the original [Kickstarter pitch](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-prelude-to-axanar) for _Prelude to Axanar_ , the fan film was described as

> a short film that will give viewers a historical look at the events leading up to the Battle of Axanar...Shot like a History Channel special, **_Prelude to Axanar_** will be Star Trek like you have never seen it before, showing the central characters of **_Axanar_** giving both a historical and personal account of the war.

The final film delivered magnificently on this premise, establishing the viewer as part of a Federation audience watching a documentary produced by the “United Federation of Planets Historical Society” and the “Memory Alpha Cultural & Scientific Archive.” Indeed, as nod to _The Original Series_ , the narrator for _Prelude to Axanar_ was one “Professor John Gill,” a character who memorably created a planet of Nazis in “Patterns of Force.”  (The inclusion of Gill was maybe not the best Easter Egg. Generally, one does not want one’s viewers thinking of Nazis while watching one’s film. Unless one is Leni Riefenstahl.) Furthermore, the structure of the film follows a World War Two-style documentary format, jumping between broad context, illustrated with Tobias Richter’s excellent CGI work, and the more personal monologues of the actors.

It is within this choice to make _Prelude to Axanar_ a Federation documentary about the Four Years War that we find the fan film’s true perspective or theme. This theme is not a superficial effort to impose deep meaning on the work, such as the throwaway reference to the conflict between the Federation and Klingon Empire occurring in part due to their different perspectives ([5:43 to 5:48](https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA?t=3430)), or the tension between Starfleet’s mission of exploration and mission of defense and the loss of life during warfare ([17:55 to 18:10](https://youtu.be/1W1_8IV8uhA?t=1075)).  Instead, this theme is baked into the structure of the work and the story it tells, no less than the themes found in a great Star Trek film such as _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_ or  _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country_.  It is revealed when one examines _Prelude_ as one might examine an actual work of historical scholarship-- with a historiographical perspective.

**A Historiographical Perspective**

In its broadest form, historiography is how we think and write about history. (More narrowly, it’s how historical thought changes over time, a ["history of history"](https://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/writing/history/critical/historiography.html) as it were.) When historians gather pieces of information from various sources, whether material objects or written records or the like, they have to decide how to organize this information in a way that makes sense. They have to turn it into a story. The assumptions they make and the culture in which they make these assumptions affect how the story is told. For example, in the history of computer science there was the assumption for many years that it was a male sphere. The rise of feminist history, however, [revealed women](https://www.jstor.org/stable/25147356?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents) where they were previously invisible.  When the assumptions and information changed, the history changed with them.

Most commonly, historiography is discussed within the context of academic histories, likely because there is nothing one academic likes more than explaining exactly where other academics got it wrong; however, it is not exclusive to the academe. Popular histories, documentaries, movies, video games, anywhere there exists the story of a historical event or people, there exists a historical perspective, and historiography comes into play. Thus, _Prelude to Axanar_ , as a fictional historical documentary, may be examined in this way.

Specifically _Prelude to Axanar_ draws on two things.  First, it engages the basic mythology of Good vs. Evil, which, while not part of formal historical thought _per se_ , is a fundamental narrative structure dating back quite probably to the beginning of storytelling.  Second, it intertwines this mythology with a theory of history that historians call "The Great Man Theory."

The Great Man Theory is a particularly persistent form of historical thought that continues to exist, particularly in popular histories, despite being painfully dated.  It was established by the Scottish polymath Thomas Carlyle (1795 – 1881) in his lecture series _[On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1091/1091-h/1091-h.htm)._  In his first lecture, given in 1840, he said,

> As I take it, Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here. They were the leaders of men, these great ones; the modellers, patterns, and in a wide sense creators, of whatsoever the general mass of men contrived to do or to attain; all things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole world's history, it may justly be considered, were the history of these.

Certainly, The Great Man Theory fits with the conventional narrative desire for a [central protagonist and conflict,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_\(narrative\)#Classification)  likely contributing to its longevity.  The Great Man makes his appearance as a statesman or a soldier in Man Against Man--a Churchill or a Patton; he makes his appearance as an explorer in Man Against Nature--a Shackleton or a Scott; he makes his appearance as an innovator in Man Against Society--a Snow or a Semmelweis; and usually this Great Man must overcome his own doubts in some way to become great in the story of Man Against Self.  As narratively compelling as this theory is, its great weakness--and the reason it is now largely considered _passé_ \--is that it ignores the multitude of other factors that shape events and the people involved.  It makes the whole of the world a mere stage and backdrop and all of the other people mere background extras.

Nevertheless, this is the approach taken by _Prelude to Axanar_.

**An Extraordinary Time, A Great Man**

The story into which _Prelude_ 's Great Man steps is at its heart a story of Good vs. Evil.  Although it does make a token attempt at "both sides"-ing the issue by the aforementioned reference to the Klingon Empire considering sacred what the Federation considered a source of raw material, the entire story works to undermine this point of view with its characterization of the two powers involved and the story it chooses to tell.

The major powers involved in this story are the Federation and the Klingon Empire.  The Federation is portrayed as an alliance of peaceful explorers.  Earth receives special attention, being a world without which the Federation would not exist (0:43).  ( _Prelude to Axanar_ may be [viewed on YouTube here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W1_8IV8uhA).)  Moreover, it is an exceptional or "extraordinary" world, having been able to establish itself as a leader shortly after a war with the Romulan Empire (0:49-0:58).  Notably, these are the views of Vulcan Ambassador Soval, member of a species established as honest and logical in Trek canon, which gives a sense of weight and neutrality--and therefore objectivity--to the statement.  As the Vulcans took on a negotiating position between the two powers before the war, Soval is presented here as a neutral viewpoint.  (He will continue to provide this neutral narration--confirming the statements of characters on both sides of the war--throughout the film.)

This portrayal of the Federation stands distinctly opposite to the portrayal of the Klingon Empire.  Where the Federation is represented by science outposts, the Klingon's "whole culture is a monument to the art of war" (4:25 to 4:29).  This impression is built in multiple ways beyond that statement.  For example, the Empire eschews diplomacy, its leader saying, "if words were water, the humans would drown us all" (1:02 to 1:09).   Its portrayal as a culture of violence and conquest is further reinforced not only through narration but also through the visual elements of the film.  As a Klingon warship hovers over a burning civilian city, Admiral Ramirez describes two hundred years of expansion prior to the formation of the Federation (2:09 to 2:16).  Lest the viewer think this is merely Ramirez's own bias, Soval, reinforces statement as true by saying that the Klingons were arrogant, believing they could take what they wanted and that they were superior to other species (2:32 to 2:36, 3:16 to 3:20).

The diametric opposition of these two cultures sets up the central conflict of  _Prelude to Axanar_ , that of the peaceful Federation being steamrolled by the warlike Klingons until the stars align and they turn the tide.  The first half of the film describes the overwhelming losses suffered by the Federation.  Arcanus IV, the first battle described in the film, is a massacre.  The "shining example of Federation progress," a large research colony beautifully rendered in the opening image, is shown completely destroyed, with thousands dead and missing, in a later scene.  A Klingon Bird-Of-Prey hovers above it (0:29 to 0:42, 1:24 to 1:44).  This motif is repeated with the Inverness system where the Klingons are said to use a tactic called "the Devourer," which the film illustrates with images of battles gone disastrously wrong and the reminisces of characters who survived (6:08 to 7:21).  As if these battles are not enough, the film includes images such as a Klingon Bird-Of-Prey hunting and destroying a Starfleet ship (2:32 to 3:10), and commentary from the Starfleet, Klingon, and Vulcan characters all saying roughly the same thing as each other and as accompanying images and narration: the Federation was getting its ass kicked (Starfleet, 4:32 to 4:58; Klingon, 4:00 to 4:20; Vulcan, 3:13 to 3:16).

It is into these dire straits that the first of _Prelude_ 's Great Men steps.  This is Admiral Ramirez, played by Tony Todd.  His appointment and subsequent speech are set up as a defining moment for the people of the Federation, indeed, a defining moment for the history of the Federation.  The implication of the commentary surrounding it places it on par with events such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of JFK, or 9/11.  It is an event that no one who witnesses it will ever forget (8:26 to 8:32). 

The importance given to what amounts to an administrative decision and a speech is the first indication that Ramirez is a Great Man.  The second indication is that the film presents the Federation's upward climb out of the hole as being a direct result of this leadership.  For example, Ramirez says "the first goal was to create a class of ship that could spring Starfleet back into action..." (9:47 to 9:51).  The implication here, of course, is that no one at Starfleet considered they might need a dedicated warship prior to Ramirez setting that goal.  In other words, it was a practical realization and embodiment of his thoughts about war and how to win it.  This portrayal continues when Ramirez references the "detractors who think you're taking the initiative too soon, that you're rushing the offensive," saying he disagreed (10:47 to 10:57).  The Great Man had to overcome the objections of other, lesser men in order to succeed.  Succeed he did.  At Cygnus II, his faith in himself, his ships, and his crews was rewarded (11:54 to 11:58).  In this way, the story draws a clear line between the presence of Ramirez and the Federation's victories as the Federation begins to win (13:44 to 13:46, 14:11 to 14:38).

As with all stories, however, there need to be complications.  The complication introduced is that, for first time in two years, there's an arms race between the Klingon Empire and the Federation (15:45 to 15:56).  This arms race allows the second Great Man of _Prelude to Axanar_ to step into the spotlight.

Garth of Izar is introduced as a maverick, "that mad Izarian son of a bitch" (12:03 to 12:11).  He's portrayed as a humble explorer, among Starfleet's best, of course, thrust into the role of battle captain.  Indeed, according to Ramirez as good an explorer as he was, Garth's truest identity was that of a soldier (17:33 to 17:56).  That it is Ramirez who praises Garth so highly is key.  Ramirez is a man so great that his speech brought the Federation to a standstill, and the one who reversed its losses, so his estimation of Garth further reinforces Garth's own greatness.  It is not only Ramirez who praises him.  Garth's comrades do as well, admiring his skill in accomplishing things no one else had yet achieved (12:21 to 12:21, 12:43 to 12:45).  Even, his enemies respect him highly enough to bestow an honorific name, "Garth of Izar," upon him (13:00 to 13:17).  As a final mark of his greatness, his brilliant battle plan would be the one on which the entire war depended, winner take all (16:13 to 17:05, 18:10 to 18:20). 

Ultimately, _Prelude to Axanar_ points at Ramirez and Garth as the two people on which the Federation's victory depends.  While others are present or mentioned, such as Garth's comment about the people who died, in this story they are entirely unnecessary (18:04 to 18:09).

**A Piece of Federation Propaganda**

If _Prelude to Axanar_ had been a piece of conventional narrative fiction instead of a documentary-style work, the use of a Good vs. Evil story involving central protagonists would have not been worthy of comment beyond the note that we've seen it all before.  Within the context of a historical documentary, however,  _Prelude_ garners interest, these elements having transformed it from history into propaganda.  Furthermore, this propaganda reveals the type of society that created it.  The Federation of _Prelude to Axanar_ is not the ideal utopia of _Star Trek The Original Series_ or _Star Trek The Next Generation_ , but rather the flawed, perhaps even fearful, Federation of _Star Trek Deep Space_ _Nine_ or  _Star Trek_ _Discovery_.

Although the Four Years War between the Federation and Klingon Empire has ended by the time of this story, and relations between the two powers are positive enough that Klingon leader was interviewed on Qo'noS for it, the film still casts Klingons as a monolithic, insular, violent society, which it contrasts with the Federation values of peace, plurality, and exploration.  This approach works to establish an [ingroup](https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/48648_ch_7.pdf), a group with which the viewer will identify (the Federation), and an outgroup, a group with which the viewer will not identify (the Klingons).  However, the film takes this establishment of the two groups to an extreme, focusing on the single trait of the Klingons as deadly warriors to the point of, for a lack of a better word, dehumanization.  While this might be an expected position for the Federation to take during warfare, such as Ramirez's speech--although not an admirable position by any means as dehumanization is used to make palatable treatment of the outgroup that the ingroup might normally object to--it's curious that it should continue in an official broadcast after the war is over (8:43 to 9:26).

The dehumanization of the Klingons is not the only indication that the Federation struggles with xenophobia, perhaps even to a greater extent than in the pre-Federation years of _Star Trek Enterprise_.  The first indicator is the reference towards the Vulcans during the development of the _Ares_ class, and their unwillingness to assist by providing weapons for the ship, unlike the Andorians (10:28 to 10:36).  This, of course, could be considered the view of the character; however, its inclusion is still significant as it marked an editorial choice.  More significant is the portrayal of homogeneous starship crews.  In this story, each species crews its own ships, which is promoted as a reason for Starfleet success: the Klingons were unable to pin down the tactics used because each species fought differently (13:51 to 14:08).  In other words, segregation, not integration, helped win the war.

The attitude towards war is also not the attitude of a power that prioritizes peace and regrets war.  Although the Federation promotes itself as the scrappy underdog, not even developing its own warship until after two years of crushing defeats, the overall portrayal of war is that it's something unavoidable at best and quite glorious at worst.

Not only was the inevitability of war implied be the characterizations of the Federation and Klingon Empire, Soval said that the Vulcans were responsible for negotiations because of "bad blood between the Humans and the Klingons" (1:10 to 1:22).  In other words, the war was not the result of choices as much as natural differences.  Indeed, Admiral Ramirez says of the relationship between the two "that there would be a conflict with the Klingon people at some point was obvious to most of the members of Starfleet" (2:18 to 2:25).  There is no question of whether this attitude that war was inevitable may have led to it becoming so, nor is there a question of how peaceful Earth really is when it is involving itself in a war with the Klingons some time after involving itself in a war with the Romulans.  Although lip service is paid to the Federation having expanded into Klingon space, it is completely overridden by the rest of the narrative.  The film is so enamored with the idea of war, that peace was not even a possibility until the Federation could fight on equal terms with the Klingons (9:33 to 9:43).

This positive view of war expands to the personal level as well.  Ramirez is successful because of his Klingon-like approach--building warships and being aggressive in combat.  Garth, too, is shown as profoundly successful as a tactician when his actions are like "a Klingon maneuver" (12:43 to 12:45).  The transformation of Starfleet officers into Klingons, adopting Klingon approaches and abandoning the things Starfleet officers value as strengths is not portrayed as a tragedy but as a victory.  If the praises of the characters and the images of triumphant Federation ships are not sufficient to indicate this, the heroic score accompanying them are certainly enough to establish that emotional connection.

Yet the film is aware that glorifying in war is not a good thing to do.  Therefore, it takes effort to portray the [war as just](http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/just/introduction.shtml).  It does so by establishing that the Federation went to war to protect its way of life after being brutally attacked by an alien species who value nothing but war (8:43 to 9:26).  More than that, it establishes that the Federation went to war reluctantly.  It does this through Garth of Izar's humility.  Garth's response to the praise of his tactical ability is describing that his ship had been called "tough" and he "wanted to see what she could take" (12:51 to 12:56).  When his battle plan is praised for its boldness and novelty, he talks about Starfleet "not [signing] up to be warriors" but that they were proving that they could do what was needed to defend the Federation (17:56 to 18:03).  Although the reluctant warrior is a popular image, it by no means indicates that there is not a desire for war.  Indeed, the [song behind jingoism](https://www.britannica.com/topic/jingoism) references the reluctant warrior image, while being decidedly enthusiastic towards the war itself:

> We don't want to fight, yet by jingo, if we do,
> 
> We've got the ships, we've got the men,
> 
> And we've got the money, too!

What makes these perspectives unusual in the context of Star Trek is that they are uncritically included in the film.  There's no suggestion that the Federation is doing any soul searching, rather they are celebrating these perspectives.  To my mind, that indicates that this fan film fails to follow in the spirit of Star Trek.  It fails to honor IDIC--Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations--by reinforcing ingroup/outgroup divisions instead of questioning whether those divisions leading up to and during the war caused or prolonged it.  It fails to honor IDIC by suggesting segregation is stronger than integration and failing to question whether that was in fact so.  And it fails to honor the idea of peace being a greater than war by taking the position that war was inevitable and that the only way to peace was through violence rather than questioning if it was this attitude that contributed to the problem.

The Federation that could create _Prelude to Axanar_ is not the Federation that says, ["No."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FJi4bToYJA)  It is ultimately an aggressive, xenophobic power that whitewashes its negative traits instead of dragging them into the light and destroying them.  I would suggest that this is in no small part due to the presence of Great Man Theory.

The Great Man is a nucleus around which ingroup identity crystallizes.  In him, abstract values become real.  He is, however, ultimately a product of Victorian Britain, a product of Empire.  A the time Carlyle developed this theory, Britain was in its ascendancy as a military power, as a scientific power, and as an industrial power.  And this society was looking for ways to explain its superiority over all of the other cultures on Earth which had fallen before it.  Their great number of Great Men supplied an answer.

In sum, _Prelude to_ Axanar fails to uphold the ideals of Star Trek because instead of looking forward to the future, it looked back.  It gave us a 19th century United Federation of Planets.

**A Success Story**

_Prelude to Axanar_ was an undeniably successful fan film, raising over [$100, 000](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-prelude-to-axanar) in its own crowdfunding campaign and inspiring over a million dollars in donations between [Kickstarter](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-axanar?ref=profile_created) and [Indiegogo](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/axanar#/) for the unproduced follow-up film _Axanar_.  It still enjoys an active fan base today even though Star Trek fan film fandom has cooled somewhat since the end of long-running fan film series _New Voyages_ and _Continues_ and the advent of fan film guidelines.

I believe this success is due to more than _Prelude_ 's fictional documentary format, which had not been previously seen among high-dollar Star Trek fan films in 2014.  I believe this success is also strongly related to its identity as a Federation propaganda piece.  Star Trek fans are already predisposed to identify with the Federation, but this film commits itself so brilliantly to its premise that it does something no other fan film has done before: it is a massive piece of performance art, inviting the viewer to join in the theater by taking a role as a member of the Federation audience.  In doing so, it creates a next-level of emotional engagement.  Unlike watching a straight narrative from the outside, in which the viewer only has the omniscient third person point-of-view, _Prelude_ also allows the viewer to take a first person perspective.  When the viewers can do that, emotionally they are not watching Garth fight; they're fighting alongside him.

Incidentally, short-circuiting critical thinking by engaging emotions is not only a mark of good propaganda, but also good advertising.  _Prelude_ , [as a proof-of-concept and a sales pitch for the full-length ](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-prelude-to-axanar)_[Axanar](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-prelude-to-axanar), _clearly did this well.  It was a triumph.  One might even say it was a [Triumph of the Will](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025913/).  (You didn't really think I'd let that John Gill remark at the beginning go unrevisited, did you?)

**NB:**

I do not believe the [ _Prelude_ team](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qP0JUh2920&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR00MVicOndtOtWpkdFvIrdawB5ZWS1aVtopFzbMGPMVJLMQ5cOruO4oMCg) intended to create a 19th century Federation, nor did they intended to create a propaganda piece.  Much to my delight and amusement, this is just what happened when they took a tired old story and paired it with the WWII documentary genre (which often slides towards propaganda itself).  Nevertheless, lightning has struck.  I don't think any other _Prelude_ -type fan film will ever be this successful again.  Time, place, audience, genre, story...it just all worked.

 


End file.
